Steve LaRainbow flags waved high Thursday in West Hollywood as dozens lined Santa Monica Blvd during rush hour traffic, protesting the stay on same-sex marriages granted by the U.S Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
A long row of cars honked in solidarity eliciting cheers from protesters who chanted, “Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied” and “LGBT, We Demand Equality”
The speakers at the protest included former army officer Dan Choi, activist Robin Tyler and West Hollywood City Councilwoman Lindsey Horvath.
“The stay really shows how our lives can be tossed around,” Choi told the Weekly. He predicted a favorable outcome for same-sex marriage proponents in the end, but cautioned that gays and lesbians still had to fight regardless.
Dan Choi; Credit: Steve La
Choi was discharged from the army for coming out on the Rachel Maddow Show.
He later led the crowd to chant, “I am somebody, I deserve full equality!”
“There was no legal reasoning for Prop 8 to stay,” said Tyler, who along with her wife Diane Olsen were the first same-sex couple in Los Angeles county to get married in 2008. “Justice does not mean just us.”
Councilwoman Horvath also echoed the call for justice and equality.
“As Americans we do not become equal,” Horvath told the crowd. “According to our constitution we are equal.”
Credit: Steve La
The demonstration was organized by younger activists using only social media tools. Arturo Sernas, Heather Hufstedler and Kathryn Hernandez organized the protest, after meeting at a demonstration last week, using Facebook and Twitter.
“There was no else organizing it, so we took it upon ourselves to do it,” said Hufstedler. “We're not going to go out quietly.”
“This movement isn't about the lawyers or pretty faces you see, it's about everyday LGBT citizens,” Sernas added.
Jordan Ball, 20, of West L.A. accepted their Facebook invite to attend the protest.
“I feel like this is the movement of my generation,” Ball said. “I wanted to do my part to make it successful.”
Funny juxtaposition: A short distance from the protest, another crowd assembled for rapper Lil Romeo's 21st birthday celebration at a milkshake shop. The Lil Romeo fans gawked at the rainbow flags and the chants of equality as they awaited the rapper.
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